Free Jazz

Backengrillen – Backengrillen Review

By Tyme on February 3, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Punk, 28 comments

“As this new year has gotten off to a right proper, lunacy-fueled start, I scoured the sump pit in search of something to pen my first review of 2026 on. As I poked through the pickens, slim as they were, I spied one of my favorite tags: ‘Steel says review,’ sitting unclaimed. Self-described as ‘free form death-jazz,’ Umeå, Sweden’s Backengrillen play music that is a paean to chaos and destruction. The basic idea is to take a death/doom metal, or noiserock riff and play it until it loses meaning and then break it apart like a ravenous cat would a tiny forest mouse. Okay, I thought, I’ll bite.” Business in the front, grillen in the back.

Under – What Happened In Roundwood Review

By Samguineous Maximus on January 29, 2026 in Reviews, Experimental Metal, Noise Rock, Sludge Metal, 20 comments

“There’s something tantalizing about the brand of metal-adjacent noise rock that’s experienced a renaissance in recent years. It’s ugly, it’s loud, and it doesn’t give a damn if you’re comfortable. You’ve got breakout stars Chat Pile dragging nü-metal’s bloated corpse through the mud, Couch Slut dishing out dissonant, riff-heavy nightmare fuel, and Intercourse sounding like a feral animal tearing flesh for fun. This isn’t “revival” music; it’s bands weaponizing noise, smashing metal’s brute force into punk’s emotional hemorrhaging, and then deliberately breaking whatever’s left just to see it scream. Enter the UK’s Under, stepping into this mess with zero interest in playing nice.” Under the thunder.

Heathe – Control Your Soul’s Desire For Freedom Review

By Samguineous Maximus on October 4, 2025 in Reviews, Drone, Noise, Nu Metal, Post-Hardcore, 27 comments

“As I prowled the depths of the promo bin, preparing for my next review, a peculiar glint caught my eye. The label read, “RADIOACTIVE: FOR N00B ABUSE ONLY,” and below it, in what must have been an act of genre-tag terrorism, sat the words: nü metal/gospel/jazz. I briefly considered calling the authorities, but morbid curiosity won out. What kind of unholy chimera lurks inside something with that particular trifecta? I dusted off the cover like a bomb disposal tech, hoping the wires are color-coded. The culprit is Control Your Soul’s Desire For Freedom, the sophomore album from Danish group Heathe.” Tripping over trip wires.

Abhorrent Expanse – Enter the Misanthropocene Review

By Dear Hollow on August 18, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Death Metal, Noise, 49 comments

“How experimental is too experimental? That’s the question Chicago’s Abhorrent Expanse posits. It’s clear from the title: Enter the Misanthropocene enters to play jazz and fuck shit up, and “Bitches Brew” is on its final notes. When the Lord of the Promo Pit designated the quartet as “death-drone,” I was intrigued and gobbled up rights. It was clear from the jump that Abhorrent Expanse was not the death metal act with a mammoth guitar tone I had hoped, but an improvisational free jazz quartet that decides to do extreme metal sometimes, with death metal, grindcore, and, yes, drone metal making short-lived appearances.” Expansive ambitions.

Ava Mendoza/Gabby Fluke-Mogul/Carolina Pérez – Mama Killa Review

By Samguineous Maximus on July 22, 2025 in Reviews, 24 comments

“Named after the Incan goddess of the moon, Mama Killa promises ‘eight tracks of high-volume, riff-based guitar-violin improvisation bolstered by thunderous drumming.’ Can this newly formed power trio avoid the common pitfalls of experimental music and deliver over 50 minutes of compelling, instrumental free jazz?” This is called “n00bing on hard mode.”

Swans – Birthing Review

By Dear Hollow on May 27, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient, Noise, Noise Rock, post-punk, Sludge Metal, 40 comments

“It’s hard to keep up with Swans. Since 1982, Michael Gira and company have cranked out sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, and ten live albums (not to mention all the compilations and side projects), influencing underground stalwarts like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Neurosis, Godflesh, and Napalm Death, as well as more mainstream acts like Nirvana and Tool. No genre was safe, as noise rock, no-wave, industrial, sludge, post-punk, and post-rock were impacted in the process – yet Swans have always had their own inimitable and uncategorizable sound.” Still on the pond.

Bunsenburner – Reverie Review

By Dear Hollow on January 20, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 32 comments

“My relationship with Germany’s Bunsenburner grows with each release, and you could say it’s getting pretty serious, like a dark romantasy. I completely ripped third full-length Poise a new one which garnered the ire of mastermind Ben Krahl. But like any hate relationship that borders on masochistic, he saw the light and sent in follow-up Rituals – and our love blossomed. The act’s backbone lies in the fuzz and jam-sesh vibes of stoner metal, but with enough free jazz and crystalline ambiance to kill a full-grown elephant, it embraces the psychedelia in tasteful ways with instrumental prowess.” Lab safety is cat safety.

Ingurgitating Oblivion – Ontology of Nought Review

By Dear Hollow on September 24, 2024 in Reviews, Blackened Death Metal, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 70 comments

“I’ve spent over twenty hours with Ontology of Nought, trying to learn the German Ingurgitating Oblivion’s method in the madness. I’m still lost. I’m still stumbling blindly through the dead ends, the hairpin turns, the ominous spires, and the high walls that enclose its labyrinth, attempting to discover its light but knowing that it will only be by chance if I do. I cannot find a pattern, a clue, or an architectural basis anywhere. It’s blind memorization and utter void of context, and I have never been so baffled and intrigued by something calling itself death metal.” Band of confusion.

Killing Spree – Camouflage! Review

By Dear Hollow on September 10, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Industrial Metal, 31 comments

“As the old ball bounces, I guess I’m becoming the jazz guy around here. Hey, did you know that the phrase “jazz” probably comes from the word “jasm,” which is an archaic American phrase that means “drive” or “energy?” Now you do. Either way, when the inimitable GardensTale claimed this one, he was like “what the hell” and asked – no, demanded – that I take it after seeing my work with Mamaleek, that whack-ass La Suspendida project, and Bunsenburner’s redemption arc. But Killing Spree is here to kick ass and take names, like down in NOLA or some shit. Does it jazz? That’s the question.” Blue notes in a deadly space.

Onkos – Vascular Labyrinth Review

By Dear Hollow on May 24, 2023 in Reviews, 25 comments

“A project of San Francisco-based musician Robert Woods-LaDue and Bay-area session jazz musicians, Onkos is definitely metal, but like, what? Most akin to Barcelona flute/double bass bastards Inhumankind, Vascular Labyrinth can be best described as a chamber jazz act covering death metal.” In the veins of weirdness.